Crazy
by TurboloverJP
Summary: Someone is killing people wherever Helena seems to be.


**CRAZY**

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the characters of Birds of Prey. No copyright infringement is intended. Reginald Phillips is my character.

I roll my eyes and exhale swiftly in sheer irritation.

I was planning on calling it a night, but that was until some jerk just decided to break a car window.

I watch him try to hot-wire the car as I walk over to the open car door. He's obviously new at this car-stealing-gig because nothing's happening.

"Ahem," I say as I clear my throat.

His eyes widen as he finds himself caught in the act and leaps out of the car.

I grab his hood before he has a chance to run off. Geez, he's even a novice at trying to get away.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I-I...nothing."

"Nothing, huh?"

:: Huntress? What've you got? ::

He squirmed a little and tried to free himself from my grip.

"Some punk just tried to..." Before I could finish I heard a pop in the distance and then the kid thrust forward towards me. I caught him in my arms and lowered him to the ground, that's when I saw the bloody bullet hole in his back.

Quickly, I dragged him behind the car, trying to shield myself as I look up towards the rooftops that lined the street.

"Oracle! Someone just shot the kid that's with me."

:: What?!? Are you okay? ::

"I'm fine." I put my fingertips to the kid's neck and sigh as I don't find a pulse. "The kid's not, though. He's dead."

:: Get back here, now. ::

She didn't have to ask me twice. I hoisted the kid up and slung him over my shoulder and wasted no time in getting back to the Clocktower.

I brought the kid into the lab so Barbara could work on him.

"Yuck," I said as I laid the kid down on the steel table. "I think that's the first time I've ever carried a dead body around the city."

Barbara turned the overhead light on and peered into the wound. "What was the kid doing when you found him?"

"Trying to steal a car, unsuccessfully I might add."

"Maybe the owner shot him. Did you see anyone around?"

"Not a soul. Seems rather odd that a bumbling thief would get picked off by someone's bullet."

Barbara dug inside the wound and pulled out the bullet. "It got him right in the heart."

I shake my head. "It doesn't make any sense."

"No much does in this city. Maybe there's more to this kid than you know. He could've pissed the wrong people off. Maybe they were tired of him fumbling up jobs or something."

"I doubt it. The car he was trying to steal wasn't worth the time. He was definitely in the wrong neighborhood if he was trying to steal a hot set of wheels."

"Then maybe we've got a vigilante out there that is taking the law into his own hands by gunning down thieves in an attempt to clean up the streets."

"I dunno," I said as I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm gonna get cleaned up and crash up in the loft. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night."

Barbara went back to work on analyzing anything she could from the kid in order to give us a place to start.

It just didn't make sense, but Barbara's right...not much in this city does.

The following night of sweeps was certainly a busy one. In fact, Barbara sent Dinah out to cover areas I couldn't, and it was a school night!

"Oracle, I'm over on South Main and found the crazy drunk guy. I swear, if he pukes on me I'm going home."

I heard Barbara laugh but I was dead serious.

:: Just get him off the street before he causes more damage. He's already vandalized three cars and put a garbage can through a store front window. ::

"Hey!" I yell over to him just as he throws an empty beer bottle at a street sign. "Hey!" I call again as I run up in front of him.

"Get the fuck away from me, little girl!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, you're wrecking the joint here and..."

He gasped and crashed to the ground face first.

I shook my head. "The middle of the street isn't a place for a heart attack." I knelt down next to him and swallowed hard when I saw a bullet wound in his back. "God dammit!" I swore as I dragged him to the side of the road and scanned the area.

:: Huntress? ::

"We've got another one."

:: What the hell is going on around here? ::

"Wish I could tell you. I don't see anyone. They certainly don't stick around long enough for a second shot."

:: Bring him in so I can match him up to the boy. ::

"How about Dinah meets me and drags him back?"

:: No way! :: Dinah chimed in.

"Come on! Drunk AND dead isn't a great combo."

:: Oh well. See you at the lair. :: Dinah said as she cut the connection.

"This sucks," I grumbled as I took him back to the Clocktower.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

"Both bullets match," Barbara said as she wheeled out into the kitchen where Dinah and I were eating breakfast.

"Okay, so we know the same person is killing these people but why? The drunk guy was just drunk. Yeah he was breaking stuff, but that's not something to shoot someone over."

"I'm waiting for the background checks on them both. There has to be something that's made them targets." Barbara took off her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm going shopping."

"Didn't you go shopping yesterday?" Dinah asked as she got up to clean her plate.

"So. A girl can never have too many clothes." I smile at them and leave the lair. I know they think I'm crazy for buying tons of clothes but whatever.

After three hours of shopping, I left the leather shop with two pairs of pants and a smile across my face.

I passed by the window and noticed a cute leather jacket that I hadn't seen inside the store. It puts me in a trance for a moment, but the sound of screams fills the air behind me as I turn around and see a man on the ground and everyone ducking for cover.

"Shit, not again!"

I put my bags down and kneel down by him. Sure enough, a bullet hole in his back.

"An ambulance is on it's way," one of the store owners tells me.

"They won't need to rush, he's dead," I tell him. If he only knew that this has become part of my daily routine.

I hear sirens begin to wail in the distance and know it'll only be a matter of time before the cops get here.

All of the commotion allowed me to slip away. I'm not used to having to be sneaky during the daytime.

I ducked into an alley and took out the emergency pager and sent a message to Barbara. I know she was probably in the middle of teaching a class but I think this constituted as an emergency.

Within a span of five minutes I heard Barbara's voice through my comm.

:: Huntress? What's wrong? ::

"There was another shooting downtown. I was coming out of one of the stores and some guy took one in the back just like the others."

:: Dammit. ::

"This guy looked like your run-of-the-mill corporate suit and tie guy. And why is it always happening when I'M there?"

:: I dunno. I can't make any sense of it. Listen, I'm gonna finish up here and will meet you at the lair. ::

"Got it."

Barbara got bits and pieces of the news and other sources to find out some background info on our latest dead guy. He was clean as a whistle which made this even more messed up.

"You get any shred of a lead?" I asked as I put on my leather duster.

"Nothing. They haven't started the autopsy on him yet so we'll have to wait until tomorrow so I can hack into their database."

"Well, keep me posted."

"Helena."

"Yeah."

"Be careful. Please."

"You worry too much. Besides, it looks like they're targeting men. And I'm definitely no man." I winked at her and got into the elevator, watching the doors close.

As I rode the elevator down, I thought more about the shootings. Maybe the shooter isn't a man, maybe it's a man-hating woman or something.

All I know is that we need to catch the person and put an end to these random shootings because I'm tired of lugging dead bodies home.

Dinah came out to meet me halfway through my "shift" while I was cutting through the park.

"I brought hot chocolate," she said with a smile as she handed me the paper cup.

"Sweet!" I said as I took it and sipped it.

"The whole east and north side of town is either out of town or fast asleep because there's NOTHING going on. What about you? Any action over here?"

"Just a purse snatching, that's about it."

Dinah looked at her watch. "Great, only two more hours of all this excitement. I can hardly contain myself."

I was about to take a sip of my hot chocolate when I felt a burning pain flare up in the back of my right shoulder.

"Helena?" Dinah said with concern as she saw me drop my cup and stand there in a frozen trance.

"Dinah...I..." It was only seconds before my body lost all of its ability to keep me upright and I began to fall forward into her arms.

"Oh God," she gasped as she clung to me. "Oracle! Oracle, come in!"

She pulled me over behind a park bench and laid me down on my stomach, gasping again as she got a good look at my back. She pressed her hand tightly over my wound.

I couldn't help but cry out in pain because it hurt like hell.

"Shhh, you're gonna be okay."

"No she's not," a male voice said from the shadows.

:: Dinah? What happened? ::

"Who's there?" Dinah asked.

"Her worst nightmare," the voice said before another shot flew through the air. I heard it splinter the wood of the bench.

"D-dinah?" I panicked, hoping she wasn't struck by the bullet.

"I'm okay," she said as she rubbed my back.

:: Someone talk to me! ::

"Huntress' been shot," Dinah whispered.

"The next one comes a little closer," the voice warned.

All of a sudden, I felt Dinah grab my arms and drag me under the slide next to the swings.

Cackling laughter erupted from the man as he watched us. "You can't hide from me!"

:: Where are you? ::

"The park, west side, near the playground."

I could hear Barbara typing which was good in a way because it kept me awake.

Dinah kept rubbing my back to soothe me. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

:: There's a manhole about twenty feet from you. Do you think you can get to it? ::

"I think so."

Another bullet whizzed through the air, striking the side of the metal slide.

"He's on us, Oracle. I don't think I can move without him seeing me. He keeps shooting and is getting awful close."

"Here piggy, piggy!" the man taunted.

Another shot hit the sand inches away from my foot.

I rolled onto my side and tried unsuccessfully to sit up. "D-dinah, we hav....we have to move."

"Oracle, I need help here! What do we do?!?"

Another shot rang out, this time biting into Dinah's upper arm.

"Dinah!" I gasped.

"It's fine. Just a graze," she assured me.

"Don't worry, I have another one just for you!" he yelled out to us.

:: I've put a call in to Reese, he should be there any minute. ::

"He better hurry," I huffed in a ragged breath.

:: I just did a thermal scan of the area. He's over by the maintenance shed. ::

"So tell me, what did you think of all my victims getting picked off right in front of you. Huh?"

"Sick bastard," I mumbled softly.

"Do you recognize his voice?"

"No."

"Bet you had no idea that you'd find yourself carrying around one of my bullets. Bet you thought they were for everyone else but you. See, that's the thing with you. You THINK you're in control all the time and I'm simply showing you that you're not. I'M in control."

I could hear sirens approaching and immediately got pissed off. "Wh-what is Reese doing?!?"

:: What's wrong? ::

"Sirens," I said in a quick breath.

:: Dammit! ::

"Aw, come on. Don't tell me you call the fuzz on me."

"They're gonna scare him off, Oracle."

My blood was beginning to boil and a rush of adrenaline kicked in. So much so, I wasn't thinking too clearly.

I staggered to my feet and walked out into the open. "You want me? Come on! No one else has to die because you've got some sort of grudge against me." I hunched over a little, out of breath from my long-winded speech.

:: What the hell is she doing? :: I heard Barbara ask.

"Getting herself killed," Dinah replied. "Huntress, don't do this!"

"Shut up, Dinah," I barked as I swayed like a drunken sailor. "Come on!" I yelled into the darkness.

Reese and his men showed up, guns drawn and flashlights beaming.

I sank to my knees in a combination of frustration and pain. "What the hell were you thinking, Reese?!?"

Dinah came over to help me as Reese's men scoured the area in search of the gunman. "Come on, let's get you home."

"You scared him off!" I yelled at him in a half crying, half angry voice.

"Oracle, can you pick us up. The sirens scared him off." Dinah gave him a nasty look and I was glad she did.

Reese put his hand out towards me and I batted it away. "Don't touch me."

"But, Huntress? I..."

Dinah helped me up and we walked out to the entrance of the park to wait for Barbara.

Barbara finally showed up and I just about threw myself into the back.

She turned around to look at me and wore a face filled with fear and concern. "You alright?"

"No." I said honestly.

Dinah got in and Barbara began driving.

She kept looking at me in the rearview mirror. "Did it go all the way through?"

"No. I can feel it lodged in my shoulder so take it easy on the potholes, okay?"

I was sweating like a pig which was either due to the amount of pain I was in or that the wound was infected. I hoped it was only due to the pain because I've had infections before and let's just say it's a long and painful process that I'd rather no re-live.

Barbara stopped at the red light up ahead and tapped on the steering wheel in anticipation. "Come on, turn green."

"Just go through it," Dinah said.

"What, and risk getting pulled over with a bleeding bully on board? No way."

"Bully?" I huffed.

"Just kidding," she said with a quick smile. Her ill attempt at lightening the mood wasn't working.

I closed my eyes, trying to control my pain but quickly opened them again when I heard an ungodly crashing sound of glass breaking.

"Get down!" Barbara screamed as bullets riddled the Hummer, smashing the windows and embedding themselves in the doors.

I covered my head as shards of glass rained down on me and then I felt Barbara stomp on the gas.

"Hold on!" she cried as she floored it and zoomed down the street.

The bullets kept coming but were now coming from behind us, blowing out the back window and then the rear tires.

The Hummer skidded back and forth as Barbara tried to gain control, but she lost the battle and smashed the front of the Hummer into a parked car.

The impact slammed me up against the seat in front of me and I grunted loudly as it jarred my wound, tearing it.

"Is everyone alright?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah," Dinah mumbled, sounding like she was trying to make sense of what had just happened.

BLAM!!!

A loud thump was heard on the roof of the Hummer, shaking it around.

"Shit," Barbara exclaimed, knowing full well we were sitting ducks.

"This asshole doesn't give up," I said.

"I heard that! You should know better than to hurt my feelings, seeing as you've already done it once before."

A single bullet pierced the roof and hit the carpet next to my side.

"Did I get you?" he asked with a laugh.

"Who are you?" I yelled out.

"Now that's a shame, but not surprising I guess for a girl like you."

Another bullet came through and landed way too close to my head.

I scooted over to the side, hoping that would be a safe place.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're just like the other girls from New Gotham that think they're too good for guys like me. But I really don't know why you wouldn't even consider going out with me. I mean, you didn't even think about it when I asked you. You just said no."

Another bullet came speeding down, this time embedding itself in my thigh.

I screamed out in pain, causing Barbara and Dinah to flinch.

"Gotcha!"

"Barbara, we..." I trailed off because the pain was becoming too much for me.

"Dinah, start rocking the car," Barbara whispered. "Maybe we can knock him off."

They both started rocking the car and I heard him fall loudly on the roof. The gun slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"Now, Dinah!"

Dinah flew out of the car and grabbed his ankle, yanking him off the roof and tossing him to the street.

I heard fighting outside as Barbara placed a call to Reese.

Within a minute, I heard cars screeching to a stop outside and numerous footsteps running to where Dinah and the gunman were fighting.

I was too weak to watch what was going on. I just kept hearing Barbara's voice telling me to hold on and that we'd be home soon.

The pain is intense, thanks to the low dosage of pain killers Barbara is pumping into me. It's my own fault. I'm the one that bitches about feeling "out of it" when she gives me too much, so I don't dare ask for more.

My arm is in a sling and bound tightly to my chest. It doesn't even need a sling because Barbara would tell me not to move anyway.

My leg is elevated with a few pillows under my knee. That wound still burns like hell - like someone's stabbing me over and over with a red-hot poker.

"Good, you're awake," Barbara says as she wheels herself into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, but thanks for asking," I say with a hazy smile. "Is Dinah okay?"

"She'll be fine."

"She'll be fine? What happened?"

"Couple of broken ribs, cuts, bruises. Like you, she'll be sitting still for a while."

Barbara checked my vitals and peeked at the wound in my thigh. I hissed and winced as she touched it. "Watch it!"

"Sorry."

"So what's my prognosis?"

"Well, you're definitely going to be laid up for at least a week."

"A week?!?"

"You're lucky it's not longer! The bullet in your back didn't hit any organs, but it chipped and cracked bone. And the bullet in your leg tore up your muscle. About an inch over and it would have broken your femur."

"Great," I said as I rubbed above the wound in my thigh. "So what happened to him?"

"Reese took care of it. I guess his name is Reginald Phillips."

I looked away from her as she said his name because it all came rushing back to me.

"You remember him?"

I nodded and looked back at her. "I met him at a party a few months ago. He was drunk and came onto me. I told him I wasn't interested and he got all pissed off. He threw his drink in my face and called me a whore, making a big scene in front of everyone."

"I guess it's safe to say that he never let it go. In his statement he said that he killed those people because he wanted you to feel bad. Then he went on to say that he didn't kill you right away because he wanted you to suffer."

Those words stung because he pretty much succeeded.

"He'll be shipped off to Arkham by the end of the week."

I chuckled a bit and shook my head. "It's funny, they have a looney bin for people who have gone crazy but what about those of us who were driven crazy by their fucked up mess?"

"I don't think you're in the same mental class as those people."

"He almost killed me. That does kinda fuck you up inside."

"Then that's what a therapist is for."

I laughed again. "Yeah, been there done that and we all know how that song goes. I think I'll just stay crazy then."

"Good idea," she said with a smile. "Get some rest."

I breathed in and let in out slowly.

I guess you never know how you'll effect people by what you say. It's not that you shouldn't say how you feel, but you just don't know what some people will do and that's pretty damn scary.

FIN


End file.
